News

Morrisons pays more for milk

MORRISONS has bowed to public pressure and increased the price it pays dairy
farmers for milk. The climbdown comes ahead of a meeting between Britain’s
big supermarkets and James Paice, the farming minister, on Wednesday.

A high-profile campaign on milk prices by Jamie Oliver and Hugh
Fearnley-Whittingstall has prompted the government to get involved. The
celebrity chefs urged the public to boycott supermarkets, including
Morrisons, Asda and the Co-op, that were refusing to pay a higher premium
for milk.

Asda and the Co-op backed down and increased their premiums — the amount they
pay farmers in addition to the price received by farmers from milk
processors.

Morrisons, Britain’s fourth-biggest supermarket chain, refused to buckle —
until yesterday, when it abruptly raised its premium from 1p a litre to 6p.

The spotlight has been on the supermarkets since dairy giants, including
Robert Wiseman, Dairy Crest and Arla, announced plans to cut the price